I became interested in finding out about the origins of Belfast street names when I was driving along Tate’s Avenue which connects the Lisburn and Boucher Roads and began to wonder how it came to be called Tate’s Avenue. I started doing some research and this led me on a fascinating journey of discovery not only about the history of Belfast but much beyond.
I have come to realise that street names of any city often tell a story which can easily be forgotten; this is certainly the case with Belfast. Some of the origins of street names are easy to work out, others less so. One of the hopes of this project is to bring together as many as possible of the origins of the names which could so easily be lost, though sadly it has to be said some of the street names are very possibly lost. A key part of the website is the search facility site.
Street names are an interesting way to learn the local history of a city as well as wider historical happenings. People, historical events including wars, churches, large houses all feature in some form or other in the names. Some families - the Royal family and the Chichester family later known as the Donegalls play a prominent role in Belfast street names. Much of the development of the city can be found by studying the names which have been given over the years since the time the city was first founded.
It is my hope this website will be helpful to people who want to research the development of the city and may contribute to their understanding of where they or indeed relatives grew up. Even more if this website helps contribute to students researching the history of Belfast.
It should be noted despite the violence that has marked the city of Belfast over the generations I have chosen not to highlight the impact of violence — other resources are available for those who wish to study where the Troubles impacted the people and places of Belfast.